Drop cables have been used to provide optical connectivity to individual residences and other locations. When providing such services to residences, so-called “fiber-to-the-home” (FTTH) applications, fiber optical cables are often aerial cables that are subject to wind and ice loading, and other mechanical stresses. Aerial cables such as those used in FTTH applications must therefore be of relatively high strength so that they do not break under tension. One solution is to include a metallic messenger conductor in the cable, such as those used in ‘figure 8’drop cables. Alternatively, a fiber optic cable can be lashed to a separate messenger cable to that some of the weight caused by stresses such as ice loading is supported by the messenger cable.